Tuesday 6/29/10[Pick of the Night] The Parson Red Heads / Wheelhouse / Ghost Kings / Goldenboy @ Spaceland ($7) - I haven't had a chance to see The Parson Red Heads doing any of their new music yet, and that needs to be rectified. Wheelhouse is the new band from Brian Whelan (bass player in the Broken West).

[Recommended] Devo @ Hollywood Park ($8 before 9:00 PM, $15 after) - Hang with the horsie set and then watch Devo at 10:30 PM.Pinback Presents: The Rob & Zach Show @ Detroit Bar ($15) - Pinback's never been the most dynamic live act, but I'm fond of their albums.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Just a quick heads up to click over to Aquarium Drunkard for his tribute to Television's Adventure. The sampler (a follow up to his RAM on LA compilation) features eight local LA artists tackling tracks from the revered New York City band's second album. The highlight comes six songs in with Imaad Wasif's (w/Lykke Li) take on "The Fire." For me, Television has always been about the guitar work of Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd and Wasif's inspired playing respectfully honors them. Local Natives and Deadly Syndrome come in right behind Wasif...

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

I forgot to mention this Beach Boys tribute in my weekly post. Presented by When You Awake with proceeds benefit Sweet Relief. Many great bands will be appearing, see the poster for details.

In honor of the event, here are ten lesser known Beach Boys' songs (I don't think any of them were released as singles) I'd love to hear tackled at the tribute:

1) “Only With You” from Holland: I’m a sucker for Dennis Wilson’s songs. He was a hard living guy who struggled with alcohol and had extremely questionable taste in friends but then he’d write some of the tenderest ballads. In other hands, these lyrics might come off as being corny or cliché, but the vulnerability in his vocal performance totally sells it. Not as beloved as “Forever,” but well worth repeated listenings. 2) “She’s Goin’ Bald” from Smiley Smile: This might be the weirdest, most sinister of all Beach Boys’ songs. It starts off innocently enough, but then about 50 seconds in, starts to get weird. The band incorporates an Eltro pitch shifter (pretty groundbreaking in a pre-digital world – Kubrick used around the same time for HAL in 2001) on an otherwise innocuous “Sha Na Na” harmony section then gets really creepy with “she drew a comb across her scalp…” But then the band/song returns to normal and they finish out the song like it started.3) “I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times” from Pet Sounds: One of Brian’s most personal and moving songs. Co-written with Tony Asher.4) “Feel Flows” from Surf’s Up: Don’t sleep on Carl Wilson’s integral contributions to the Beach Boys. The reverse echo on Carl’s vocals sort of makes the song for me. You probably remember it from Cameron Crowe’s film, Almost Famous.5) “Hold On Dear Brother” from Carl & the Passions – So Tough: For this record, The Beach Boys added two South Africans, drummer Ricky Fataar (to replace the injured Dennis Wilson) and singer/guitarist Blondie Chaplin (to fill in for the mostly absent Brian Wilson). Fataar and Chaplin wrote this country rock gem with Chaplin singing lead vocal. On a side note, I’ve been getting back into Blondie’s first solo album lately too.6) “Aren’t You Glad” from Wild Honey: It’s impossible for me to be in a bad mood when I hear this song. Fantastic, upbeat love song written by Brian and Mike Love. Vocal duties shared by Mike, Brian and Carl.7) “All I Wanna Do” from Sunflower: As completely unlikable Mike Love is, he did have some great contributions to the Beach Boys. This is one of them. That’s Mike on lead vocals, the song was co-written by Mike and Brian.8) “Wake the World” from Friends: I can’t even tell you how often I wake up on weekend mornings with this song in my head (and it usually means I’m going to have a great day). It was apparently the first song Al Jardine and Brian wrote together and Carl and Brian share singing duties.9) “Girl Don’t Tell Me” from Summer Days (and Summer Nights!): Brian’s attempt to write a Beatles song. The Shins covered this the last time I saw them and the Vivian Girls recently released it as a B side.10) “Baby Blue” from L.A. (Light Album): I wanted to highlight another underappreciated album (although this one’s very hit or miss), so I picked this Dennis Wilson track. This is another soft, piano driven song featuring Dennis and Carl on vocals. It was co-written by Gregg Jakobson and Karen Lamm.

The Music Box8/20/10: Hepcat (Saturday at 10 AM)9/17/10: Local Natives / The Love Language / The Union Line (presale on Thursday at 10 AM, password = AIRPLANES; on sale Friday at 10 AM)11/29/10: The Books (Saturday at 10 AM)

Monday, June 14, 2010

It was a good week last week. The Henry Clay People packed them in at Spaceland for their record release show on Tuesday (a lot of fun and a suprisingly long set of mostly originals - T. Rex and Bruce Springsteen did slip in). Karen Elson proved she's talented on Wednesday night.

Highlights this week include the Woodsist Festival and intimate shows with Billy Joe Shaver, Bert Jansch and Thurston Moore. Plus summer must be here, the Bowl and Greek are blowing up....

Friday, June 11, 2010

Libraries of books have been written on this subject, but that’s not going to stop me. In a new (whenever the mood strikes me) series, I’m going to explore my relationship with album cover art….

As we rapidly accelerate into a digital only world, I’m worried bands are going to put even less thought into their album cover artwork. Being a lifelong music collector, album covers have often influenced my purchasing decision. When I was in junior high, I might have never discovered the Dead Kennedys if it weren’t for that twisted image on the front of Plastic Surgery Disasters.

But it can work both ways. For years I’d see copies of Little Feat records and quickly go right past them. I had no idea what the music sounded like, but based on the cover art, I was confident that it sucked (admittedly a very superficial rush to judgment). But fairly recently all that changed. For the first time in ages, I heard Lowell George’s “20 Million Things” on the radio and it clicked. I immediately picked up George’s Thanks I’ll Eat It Here and have subsequently bought several early (Lowell George fronted) Little Feat records.

The man responsible for the Thanks I’ll Eat It Here cover as well as those Little Feat covers is Neon Park. Park’s first “big” album art job was doing the cover for the Mothers of Invention’s Weasels Ripped My Flesh (Lowell George was the rhythm guitarist). It was controversial at the time and has since become an iconic cover.

After George left Mothers of Invention, he formed Little Feat. He didn’t use Neon Park for the first Little Feat record, but used him thereafter. Park’s designs were frequently inspired by other images (for example, Weasels Ripped My Flesh was inspired by a Man’s Life cover; Sailin’ Shoes by Fragonard’s “The Swing” and Dixie Chicken by a lipstick ad).

The jarring thing about this collaboration is that there’s no obvious relationship between Park’s art and George’s music (other than occasional humor in George’s lyric). In very basic terms it’s surrealism, social commentary and bright vs. soulful, laid back and pastoral. The background of the cover for Thanks I’ll Eat It Here is inspired by Manet’s “The Lunch on the Grass.” In place of the family figures in Manet’s painting, Park inserted Marlene Dietrich, Fidel Castro and Bob Dylan (and they’ve got a copy of Allen Ginsberg’s Howl lying open beside them).

It all gives me a little cognitive dissonance. What do you guys think? Do you like?

Friday, June 04, 2010

Just in time to soundtrack your summer barbeque is the third long player from Glendale's finest citizens, The Henry Clay People. Somewhere on the Golden Coast comes out next Tuesday (June 8th) via TBD Records (home to Radiohead and Autolux amongst others) and delivers 11 guitar rock anthems. The record's a natural musical progression that pushes them farther from their early, indie/Pavement sound (although I do hear a little bit of "Major Leagues" in "Two Lives At the End of the Night") and more in a bluesy/Stones direction (Jordan Huddock's piano highlights that vibe on a few tracks).

But this is classic rock'n' roll drinking music, and the band's got a record release party scheduled for Tuesday night at Spaceland (CDs and vinyls will be available for sale). It's the last chance you're going to get to see them for a while (at least until Fall), as they're heading out on the road with Silversun Pickups and Against Me!.

To win tickets to this record release show email me [dukeufo at gmail] with the name of your favorite place to drink in LA. Please put "Henry Clay Person" in the subject line. The contest closes Tuesday at Noon.